insideKENT Magazine Issue 47 - February 2016 | Page 73

Love Pancakes

Meringue Love Hearts

Serves 4
Ingredients
• 150g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp Tate & Lyle Caster Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 350ml milk
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, blended with
3 tbsp hot water
• A few drops of vegetable oil
Decoration:
• 150g strawberries, halved
• 100g blueberries
• Lyle’s Golden S yrup, for drizzling
Put the flour, salt, caster sugar, eggs and milk into a mixing
bowl and whisk together to make a smooth batter. Pour about
one quarter of this batter into a separate bowl and beat in the
cocoa mixture to make chocolate batter.
Put the chocolate batter into a squeezy bottle (you could use
a rinsed-out washing up bottle for this). Heat a non-stick frying
pan and add a few drops of vegetable oil. Remove from the
heat. Using the squeezy bottle, carefully ‘draw’ a heart shape
over the base of the pan. Heat gently until just set.
Ladle plain batter over and around the surface of the heart
shape. Cook lightly until the batter just sets on the surface, then
flip the pancake over to reveal the heart shape on the cooked
side. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, then turn out onto a warm
plate. Make 4 pancakes like this, keeping them in a warm place
as you make them.
Serve the pancakes with strawberries and blueberries, drizzled
with syrup.
Cook’s tip: Get creative! Draw several heart shapes with the
chocolate batter before pouring in the plain batter. Or ‘draw’
whatever you like!

Ingredients
For the meringues:
• 60g (2 1/2 oz) Tate & Lyle Fairtrade •
Golden Caster Sugar
• 1 large egg white, about 30g (1 1/4 oz)
• Squires Kitchen mint green paste food
colour
For the filling:
• 65ml (2 1/2 fl oz) double cream
• 110g (4oz) jar cherry compôte
• Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Icing Sugar, for
dusting
• Squires Kitchen crystallised natural
whole roses
• You will also need 2 baking trays lined
with parchment paper, an 8cm (3 1/4”)
heart-shaped cutter and a piping bag
fitted with a star nozzle.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan180°,
400°F, Gas 6.
Using the cutter, draw 4 heart shapes
with a pencil on one of the sheets of
parchment paper, spaced apart as the
meringues will spread a little. Turn the
paper over so you don’t get pencil on
the undersides of the meringues.
Tip the sugar onto the remaining baking
tray and spread it out in an even layer.
Warm through on the middle shelf of the
oven for about 3-4 minutes or until the
sugar feels hot to touch and has lightly
coloured, stirring once. Don’t let it
caramelise. Pour into a small bowl.
Reduce the oven heat down to its lowest,
110°C/Fan90°C, 225°F, Gas 1/4.

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As soon as the sugar is ready, using an
electric mixer, add the white to the bowl
and whisk at high speed until it is light
and foamy, for about 1 minute. Slowly
add the hot sugar, a dessertspoon at a
time, and continue whisking until the
mixture has cooled and is very thick and
glossy. Scrape down the sides halfway
through. This will take about 5 minutes.
Using a fine skewer or toothpick, add a
little of the colouring, briefly whisk again
and check that it’s the colour you’d like,
if not, add some more.
Use a little of the meringue to stick down
the paper on the baking tray. Spoon the
mixture into the piping bag and pipe the
heart shapes.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for
55-60 minutes. The meringues are ready
when they are crisp on the outside and
the bases are dry and not at all sticky.
Turn off the oven and leave them to cool
in the oven for a few hours or overnight.
To assemble, lightly whisk the cream,
divide between half of the meringue
hearts, spoon on the cherry compôte,
then top with the remaining hearts.
Arrange on plates, lightly dust with Tate
& Lyle Fairtrade Icing Sugar, decorate
with the crystallised roses and serve.
Make-ahead
The meringues can be made up to 2
weeks ahead and stored in an air-tight
container.